Keep Me A Secret
by Helenlicious
Summary: Harry loves Hermione, but Hermione is afraid. Some things just take time.
1. F You

Ooh, looky! It's my favourite reader! Yes, you. Welcome to my story! Now I'll start by explaining some things. This is an alternate universe story, folks, so don't get confuzeled. Well, you will get confuzeled, but I'll try to stop you being such.  
  
To start with, Hermione is in Ravenclaw. Ron is in Hufflepuff, but he's really only in the story for your amusement. Harry remains in Gryffindor. Draco is also Harry's best friend. He's in Gryffindor, too. Harry and Hermione are kindasorta friends, really just acquaintances. So anyway, let this story begin!  
  
There are also some other small points, such as the fact that muggle electronics still work. (Hermione and Harry are addicted to their Walkmans).  
  
Disclaimer: Anyone idiotic enough to think that I'm idiotic enough to think that I own Harry Potter is too idiotic to know that I don't, or for that matter, to try and sue me. Same goes for the song Hermione's listening to (extract from 'Kielbasa' by Tenacious D). I do not own the plot. That belongs to fate, because much of actually happened in real life.  
  
Claimer: I own the disclaimer.  
  
- Chapter One -  
  
Hermione ran down the sloping grass, away from the castle. Down, down to the lake, deep and icy in the chill November weather. She was crying. Lifting a shaking hand to her mouth, she stopped and coughed hoarsely. As she reached the edge of the lake, she stared at her reflection on the broken surface of the water. And she hated it. With a scream, she picked a rock up from the ground and flung it into the reflection of her face. Then she fell down, sobbing.  
  
After a few minutes, she pulled herself up and wiped her blotchy red face. So much for her New Year's resolution to cry less. It was hopeless. The letter was still in her hand, crumpled and screwed up. She opened up just enough to read it again.  
  
Words and phrases were jumping out at her from the blue ink on the plain white paper. 'Hermione. . .Your Mother. . . never loved. . . so much pain. . . pain. . . husband. . . wife. . . since we moved. . . mistakes. . . three years ago. . . separation. . . very soon. . . reality. . . I'm sorry. . . for the best. . .' For the best? For the best?! What the fuck was he on?  
  
She screwed it up again and lobbed it into the lake. However, her poor throwing skills and the fact that the wind was blowing towards her meant that it came straight back and landed at her feet.  
  
"FUCK!" she screamed "FUCK YOU!" And she fell down again.  
  
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"Oi, Seamus, check this out!" called Ron. Seamus craned his neck upwards to see Ron very near the top of a bare, grey tree. "Seamus! Get out of the way!" And he jumped.  
  
"Cool!" said Seamus, grinning.  
  
"Bet you can't jump from that high up," Ron taunted him as he stood up, panting slightly and rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"Oh yeah?" asked Seamus. "Just watch me." He started to climb.  
  
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Hermione was sitting in a window seat in the library, with her legs tucked up as she stared out towards the lake and the Forbidden Forest. Her earphones were blaring music so loudly that Madame Pince was tempted to go tell her off, but she felt sorry for the girl. She seemed so upset lately. Maybe she should just be left alone.  
  
'All the ladies in the house say yeah  
  
C'mon you muthafucka say a prayer  
  
When ya fight, ya gotsta fight fair  
  
You muthafucka, ho, you muthafucka  
  
You know what time it is?  
  
Tenacious D time, you muthafucka, go!  
  
Fuck, yeah!  
  
Yeah, yeah!'  
  
She looked up. There was Harry, a few feet away. She suddenly wondered how long he had been standing there, watching her. She took out her earphones.  
  
"Hey. How're you?" she asked. The usual greeting.  
  
"I'm fine, how're you?" he replied. The usual response.  
  
"Fine thanks." They were both lying. That was how it always went.  
  
"It's dinner time, you ready to go?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure," she answered. She stood up and then they left. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Hermione's brain was racing, trying to think of something to say.  
  
"Uh, thanks for letting me borrow the CD," she said. "Anytime you want it back, just ask."  
  
"Yeah, that's okay. You can keep it for as long as you want." Silence.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go to my table now. See you."  
  
"See you," he said. And they both went their different ways.  
  
Harry was very pissed off with himself. He ran through their short conversation again. 'Fine... That's okay... sure...' Had they actually said anything worthwhile? "Fuck!" he screamed.  
  
Draco looked up, mildly amused. "What's up now?" he asked.  
  
"Fuck you," Harry replied, glaring at him.  
  
"Woahh, what did I do now?" asked Draco. Harry just glared. "Okay, I get it, you're giving me three guesses! Okay, this is going to be fun!" He put on a very thoughtful look, cupped his chin in his hands and moved his head slowly side to side. "Hmm, let me guess... is it... a girl? Is it... hmm, could it be... Hermione?"  
  
"Fuck you," Harry repeated.  
  
"My, my," Draco commented lightly as he delicately buttered a piece of bread, "You're in a strop today." Harry said nothing. He simply started to eat.  
  
"Well, you're never going to get her like that," Draco said, that annoying drawl in his voice.  
  
"One last time, Draco. Fuck. You."  
  
"And fuck you too, Harry dear," Draco said fondly.  
Author's Note: Okay, umm, first chappy done. please read and review! Love you all you fluffs! (Don't you just love Draco? He's the best.) 


	2. Break the Ice

-Chapter Two - Break the Ice-  
  
Hermione tossed and turned in her sleep. From a long distance away, she heard her alarm clock bleeping annoyingly. She reached out and thwacked it, hard. It immediately shut up. For ten minutes, she slept. Then she heard it again, and groaning softly she opened her eyes and turned towards her bedside table. Seeing the time, she sat up abruptly.  
  
"Shhhhhhhhhhheepdogs!" she yelled. She stumbled out of bed, getting entangled in her sheets. Pulling her pyjama top off with one hand, she opened her wardrobe drawer with the other. Ten minutes later, she was jumping down the ladder from the girls' dormitories in the loft, pulling her half-open bag down behind her. With tears in her eyes, she burst through the common-room door into the hallway. And Harry stepped out in front of her.  
  
"Harry!" she said, in an unnaturally high voice. She quickly turned away and wiped the tears from her eyes, hoping he wouldn't notice. 'Why,' she thought. 'Why do I ALWAYS meet him on my way to breakfast? Why?' "Um, so I'm not the only one that slept in?" She was desperate to cover up.  
  
"Uhh, no," Harry managed to say. He didn't like lying. But there had to be someone in Hogwarts besides Hermione who had slept in. What about that boy in Hufflepuff... Ron... Weasel was his last name? Well, he was always late for breakfast on Monday mornings, too.  
  
Draco shook his head as he saw Harry enter the now nearly empty Great Hall, Hermione trailing behind. Harry was a hopeless case. He was going to have to do something about it...  
  
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Snape's eyes moved stealthily across the room, carefully deciding who would best (or worst) fit with whom for the potions exam. (A/N: Oops... Cliché!)  
  
"Potter... and Turpin... and Malfoy with... Granger." Hermione groaned inwardly. Not that she didn't like Malfoy, he was all right most of the time but really! He rarely did his work; most of the time he would simply pester her until she gave him the answers. She decided that there was nothing she could do about it. She watched as he looked up and nodded at her, muttered something to Harry (who was looking down at his hands), swung his bag over his shoulder, and moved towards her desk. A very excited- looking Lisa Turpin was waiting impatiently to sit down next to Harry. No one was sitting next to Hermione; no one wanted to. She looked directly down at the scratched wooden desktop, which was covered in heavy graffiti. Draco jerked his head at her in acknowledgement of her presence.  
  
"Hey, what's up, Granger?" She shrugged. "Right then, let's get started," he said. They worked for around ten minutes without saying very much. Hermione was surprised that Draco was actually doing his fair share of the work; he even offered to pulsate the dragon eyes for her because he knew she was disgusted by it.  
  
"Guess what?" he asked, out of the blue, "I know someone who has the hots for you." Hermione looked at him in slight contempt. 'Great,' she thought, 'Another insult about how ugly I am.'  
  
"Draco," she said flatly, "I KNOW that Ernie MacMillan likes me. Everyone knows that."  
  
"Well, duh," Draco responded, rolling his eyes, "I know that you know as well as you know that you know. I'm talking about someone else." He paused to let the words sink in.  
  
"Great," Hermione said darkly, "Shoot." Draco smiled evilly.  
  
"Harry." Hermione turned and stared at him. An inner battle was raging. (A/N: Damn! And another one!) You never knew when Draco was being serious or not. Then there was the fact of how gullible she was. Everyone knew that she would believe anything. And Draco was usually taking advantage of this. So she decided he was lying.  
  
"Yeah, right," she said. "Sure I believe you." Draco drew back, looking hurt.  
  
"It's true!" he said. She turned to look at him again, tapping her foot impatiently.  
  
"Yes," she snapped, " And I really trust you, Malfoy, don't I? Harry doesn't feel that way about me. We're just friends."  
  
"I swear it," Draco responded, lifting his eyes to the ceiling of the dungeons, "I swear it on my mother's life."  
  
"Yep," Hermione said, "I do believe you." Draco rolled his eyes (yet again) and went back to pulsating the dragon eyes while Hermione continued stonily chopping the Fangora root. But of course, curiosity eventually got the better of her.  
  
"So," Hermione ventured, "If Harry really does... fancy me, then how long have you known?" Draco decided not to gloat that she had given in; he was really doing this to 'help' Harry.  
  
"Hermione," Draco pointed out, "Harry is my best friend. I've know... forever."  
  
"I still don't believe you," Hermione said, though it was clear that she was wavering. She'd have to talk about this to Ginny later.  
  
"Okay Hermione. Don't believe me. But seriously, I swear on my mother's life." He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear. "This is no joke." And then it hit her. It must be true.  
  
She shuddered and pulled away from him, tears filling her eyes, not for the first time that day and probably not for the last.  
  
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'Why'd you have to go and make things  
  
So complicated?  
  
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else  
  
Gets me frustrated  
  
And life's like this you  
  
Fall and you crawl and you break and you take what you get  
  
And you turn it in to  
  
Honestly I never would've thought you'd fake it  
  
No, no, no.'  
  
Hermione lay on her bed singing along (very badly, as she was crying at the same time). She interrupted her singing for another monologue to her favourite audience - herself.  
  
"Now how am I supposed to talk to him? How am I supposed to act? This is such - grrrrrr! Life is so - so -! Ginny's no help. All that stuff about how she knew all along. Sometimes I think she's just a liar. But how you just turn around and call your best friend that? And Malfoy! Arrrrrrrrrrrgh!  
  
Life was not going well for Hermione Granger.  
  
A/N: So! Draco's being a complete bitch... how is Hermione supposed to act around Harry now? I was going to write more for y'all, but you know... I got tired, okay?  
  
I've updated this chapter, and taken out about 90% of the swearwords, as I'm sure you'll ALL be glad to hear. That bit when she says 'sheepdogs,' she sounds a bit like me. . . I say that when I don't want to swear. ;)  
  
Please Review!  
  
Cause I love you!  
  
You may not say anything new!  
  
But I'd love it if you would review!  
  
Pleeease? Pretty please?  
  
Thank you! 


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